The region enclosing the Mediterranean Sea encompasses portions of three continents: Europe and its southern peninsulas to the north, southwestern Asia to the east, and the Maghreb region of northern Africa to the south. Overall, it is a densely populated region with an intricate political history involving many different ethnic groups. This has led to a complex and patchy political map. Today 21 countries, with surface areas from 2 km2 2,4 million km2
to , have coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea. They are Albania, Algeria, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey.
The Mediterranean region has historically been the scene of intense human activity. The Mediterranean Sea and its coasts are the source of many of the resources harvested in the region, but also the conveyor belt for trade, and often the sink for the cumulative impacts of these activities. The Mediterranean is a relatively small, enclosed sea with limited exchange with the oceanic basins, intense internal mesoscale circulation, and high diversity of sensitive ecosystems. These characteristics, combined with the political complexity of the region, mean the management and protection of the coastal and marine environment will require multilateral environmental agreements and regulations, abided by at a supranational level. This approach is essential to sustainable development in all nations bordering on bodies of water that extend beyond their boundaries.
In order to be able to analyse the different environmental problems and issues that affect the Mediterranean marine and coastal ecosystems it is important to be aware of the natural characteristics of the Mediterranean Basin and have an overview of the major drivers in the Mediterranean region, including all economic sectors within the Mediterranean basin and specially those devoted to the exploitation of the coastal and marine natural resources. This allows increased understanding of the overall interrelation between Mediterranean ecosystems and the human drivers.
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STATE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN MARINE AND COASTAL ENVIRONMENT